Now that the NFL’s divisional round is upon us, only 16 potential matchups remain for Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis next month. There’s a lot of new blood in this year’s elite eight, with just three former Super Bowl champions (New England, Pittsburgh and New Orleans) and five teams still seeking their first championship of the Super Bowl era (Philadelphia, Minnesota, Atlanta, Tennessee, and Jacksonville).

In a fun, annual exercise I started more than a decade ago, here’s a ranking from the least appealing potential matchup to the most intriguing based on sizzle factor, juicy subplots or my interest level, and a storyline or reason to care about each potential pairing. A reminder: As always, your results may vary.

1. Patriots-Vikings: Mike Zimmer and Bill Belichick are two hard-crusted coaching lifers with defensive backgrounds and no great urge to fill up your notebook with insights when it comes to their own teams. Both can be colorful when they want to...

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